Fishing ...

Whilst I was away knitting with the friendly knitters of Greytown, I observed their current passion, sock yarn blankets. Mostly these were being knit modular, in Domino square style .. but James has his own variation. I do have my own sock yarn blanket pushed to the background and this week I pulled it out and made some progress, I also finished the socks, a record I think for me, 10 days from go to woa. I was hoping to work them in a week .. but I had to return to work and that got in the way of my knitting time.


Since I have been back I've been finishing the socks for bear the MIUAIK socks (code for Making It Up As I Knit), I wondered if I could knit them in one week, but no .. they took until Friday, so from Wednesday to the Friday after the following Wednesday - I was back at work so didn't have the luxury of knitting during work hours. I'm pleased with them, and I like the effect of the rib around the ankle. I do have one more sock yarn blank to dye up and hope that I manage to make it a more feminine colourway. I was asked for a pattern .. and I'll work on that, it really only needs the chart and a few instructions for the toe, heel, and how to resolve the banjo cable into the cuff so shouldn't take long.

When I pulled out my fish blanket and laid out all the fish I had waiting, I had enough sock yarn fish to add a boarder right around the blanket. To at least try and make it look organized and not random .. I laid all the fish out around the blanket and re-positioned and re-arranged until I had a pleasing order, or perhaps the least garish order.

Then I stacked the fish in order to be sewn, and lined them up ready to sew. Now it is hard to stack knitted fish, the stack is precarious and needs to be horizontal .. and I realized that one small bump and all my careful planning might go awry.

I also noticed that each fish had two yarn ends that were needed to sew it into the blanket but that also had to be woven in. This is probably the point when I should set this blanket aside and finish it with a boarder and say it is for a small newborn baby and start a new one that is modular and avoids the yarn ends and sewing. But I like my fish and I like the effect of the blanket and I'm more than ready to sit down and sew them together once or twice a year.

I did try and organize the 'workflow' so that my fish pile was not at risk of tumbling. I used one of those long stitch holder pins that is like an over-sized safety pin, and was able to release the fish one at a time.

Now I have only a small pile of left over fish remaining, I've stitched in 53 more fish, (well I have 5 left to stitch but they will be stitched by end of day), so will need to knit more, many more to add. I do have a small collection of left over sock yarn to use .. and I like the idea of putting the left overs to use. I noticed that my sock yarn taste has changed, from the first socks in Opal and stripes to more semi solid and darker colours. I've decided to keep adding fish as a border around the blanket .. that way as the blanket grows it will represent my sock knitting history and illustrate my changing sock yarn palette.

The other bit of knit-news during the week was the latest sock club from Vintage Purls, installment one arrived. I've not photographed it yet but its pretty, and has beads (not too many), and comes with chocolate and knitting post it note. I'm fighting the temptation to cast on now ..... my interest has waned in the mystery Ravelry January Sock ... following 5 charts of unequal length isn't very relaxing. I'm also stalled on the Green sweater, I should re-swatch to try and get recommended gauge ... but I've not yet and until I do ... well its stalled.

not a very exciting post - perhaps I'll have a new project for the next post?
or at least a swatch
Stella

Honey, I'm home

Just, since last Wednesday I've been away and back and away and back, and and now I've gone back to work after what seems like an age of leave. But knitting, yes I have been knitting, I needed a new project for all the travel, first up to Dads to collect the cubs, a whirlwind trip back home to pack and head away to a Sock Knitting Weekend. I needed a new portable project, no charts and no fuss, and it really needed to be socks if I was to continue to knit it at the sock weekend. Then the knitters weekend was at a sock yarn shop (yes such things exist in New Zealand, they really do shops that sell only sock yarn), so some sock yarn was acquired but more about that latter.

I started a new pair of socks, for Bear, armed with a vague plan, 2 balls of hand dyed yarn, a pair of needles, and the size of his paws. I found a neat cable in BW Treasuries, the Banjo Cable, cute and round and decided to work that in.


I started Wednesday and knit that night, and what seemed most of Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, and look, now I have 1.5 socks. I worked the cable up the middle of the foot and then worked a toe up gusset flap heel with slip stitch under the heel, but it looked wrong, very wrong. To achieve the slip stitch under the heel toe up I had to increase across the heel cup not around it. Working the increases across so the slip stitch pattern lined up meant I didn't get that nice corner that comes when the increases are at the turn of the heel cup. I sighed and frogged and tried a second time, this time a standard toe up gusset heel flap but the colour changed as I worked the heel and where I stopped knitting the heel flap and starting knitting in the round again there was an ugly transition line across the front of the sock, a nasty jar of pale and dark blue. Finally I gave in and worked a short row heel, not my favorite heel, but the right heel for this sock, the perfect heel.

Some where in my past acres of reading about and around socks and sock traditions I stumbled across a description of traditional socks knit with a band of rib above the heel shaping, designed to make the sock fit better. My main issue with short row heels is the shaping is generic, the sock can twist and isn't as shaped to the foot as other heel styles. The idea of ribbing to snug the sock to the foot above the heel appealed, I liked the effect, and worked 7.5cm of 2x2 rib right after the short row heel.


Then as I worked towards the top of the first sock, I began to wonder how best to finish it off. I thought the moss stitch from the center of the banjo's would be a nice band at the top ... but was unsure of how to transition from leg to band, until I remembered the Estonian traveling braid. A little knit stitch that works its way across the row with a little slight of hand knitting. Some how I not only remembered how to work the stitch without my knitting books, but I also managed to finish the little braid as neatly as it had begun, flowing out of the banjo braid. I can't help but be just a little bit proud of the way it all worked out at the end, (and we all know that pride goeth before a fall - so I'm now waiting for the fall). I think I remember how I did it, an increase, knit 2nd stitch, knit first stitch, slip last stitch knit back to left needle ... and at the end a bit of fussing to work out which stitch to slip over which stitch to end it neatly. I even resorted to the basic k2, slip first stitch over 2nd stitch cast off .. as it matched the Estonian braid so well. Just goes to show even the basics have a place.


Finally the weekend, oh that was fun, so much fun, I want to go again. Four of us knitted our way up the South Island, to Wellington by plane, then by rental car to Greytown for a weekend of sock knitting and spinning events hosted by James of Joy of Yarn as part of the arts festival. I met such lovely knitters, and spinners, I ate to many of the treats, and knitted the sock reported above. and I shopped, a little on Friday (the Zauberball, a used but signed copy of KF Glorious Color, two fat-quarters of fabric, and Vintage Purls Sock in Serac), a little on Saturday (fingering Little Wool company), a little on Sunday (the needle case topped and tailed with buttons), and a little last bit on Monday (the Regia in Exotic Zany and more Shoc Chocolate than I care to admit to buying). I finished it all up with finding a copy of KF Glorious Knitting on TradeMe for $8. Those two books have instructions for Kaffe Fassett's Poppy - a design that I will one day play at with knitting.

I'm unpacked and semi-settled and back at work, and still knitting.
There are two socks on the needles and a cardigan waiting to happen, and its all slightly out of control but in a good way.

na Stella

Still not knitting

There hasn't been much knitting since the last post, not much at all. I sorted my stash, listening to back issues of Cast-On and reading the Yarn Harlots page a day knitting diary seemed to inspire me to sift thru the stash, the annual airing of the stash was mentioned in both places,. In part this was also a response to a growing pile of stuff in the back room that needed to be put away, and a need to find room to put it away.
So one day went as I hauled out all that I had, spinning and knitting and tidied it all away again. I did let some fibre go, all yarn was kept .. its all good stuff, but there is a lot and I did need a reminder of what I have. I followed this up with a WIP sift .. and finally frogged a swatch that wasn't going to progress any further, and I finished the hems and necklines, zips, and cords on all that I was sewing (2 new skirts, 2 new dresses, one hoodie, & some new Tees from Little Radiator - I got a spindle one Hard Core, some knitting ones Got Gauge, As Soon as I finish this row, and one listing Ravelry's most popular patterns. Dressed to knit and ready to go! Oh, and I finished the second spindle .. and found I have a lot to learn about making spindles.


So Frogged, one swatch, started September 17th 2008! Yes 2008, this one has been languishing in the Wip basket and for the last year in the hall cupboard for way to long. I love the yarn, I love the idea of the stole, Print o'the Wave, but it just wasn't what I wanted to knit, then or now. I can't explain it ... so its frogged. Well not actually frogged, not ripped out, but the yarn is back in stash and the pattern in a folder and the needles out. I'll put the two swatch halves with all the other swatches and trials.

And the second spindle, this one is centered and a classic red with white spots fungi. I realize that I have a lot to learn with these ... there are things that could be much better. but they work, and at 22g are lace weight spindles. Plus once they have a load of singles on them like all spindles they settle down and spin much better.

I enjoyed painting them, complete with gills and spots. I've named them using Latin species names so the Brown on is Psilocybe LBM (Little Brown Mushroom), and the red Amanta Muscaria. I'm away to collect the cubs latter today, and back tomorrow, just a quick trip, then off for the weekend returning to Bear Monday night .. so there will be frantic packing and repacking and early morning flights .. and work Tuesday. If you are in Greytown .. and knitting at the Joy of Yarn Garden Party this weekend .. I'll be there to, knitting and spinning and generally having fibre fun. I'm enrolled in a Pimp-your-socks workshop, and might even start a new portable sock. Imagine that - me knitting a sock on the go, one without charts?

take care
stella

Usually its the sock

that is the easy project on my needles, the one that I can take out, and pick up and knit while watching tv, but recently the socks have had charts to follow and they have not been so portable or lazy. I realize that for now, my sock project is my challenge and my cardigan is my portable and easy going knit. Yes, I've started the Green cardigan, or rather the swatch has been knit and the cardigan must follow. But I've been distracted, again, the cubs are away with their granddad until latter this week ... so I pulled out the fabric, and patterns and sewing tools and I've been sewing.


But first the knitting, the Green Sweater swatch is done, washed and gently dried. I measured and documented its pre-wash state, but have yet to measure the post wash change. I have hope it will bloom enough to match the required gauge - currently I'm a stitch and a bit out for each inch. I've been reading the KAL and info thread at Ravelry, A Knitters Choice, and picking up little gems of information as I work. The first gem was to ball up the yarn and let is sit for 3 or so days, its a single and fresh, so twisty. The second gem is that several people were confused by the instructions so there are errata(I've collected mine), and other little handy hints. Several knitters are working with a firmer gauge .. and I'm tempted to go that way as well, I can't imagine this yarn worked loosely, but then again I should swatch at the recommended gauge and check .. shouldn't I, before I decide? The yarn does bloom, the fuzzy thread in the photo is the washed strand, and the thinner one as it is when knit. There is biasing .. and the recommended advice from Meg Swansan seems to be 'block it firmly- make it behave, the wool can take it'! So I need to measure my swatch, and decide if I'm knitting the sweater to their gauge or mine .. and if so take some time to work out what size I'd knit to get the size that fits me.


New socks, this time its Sock Knitters Anon on Ravelry's 2010 January Mystery sock. As I'm 2 weeks slow starting it is less of a mystery as I can see the photos posted as others knit theirs. I love the look of this sock, in Vintage Purls Sock (of course), with lime green beads. The garter rib, 3x2 has pushed the cast on edge into little peaks, quite neat. The chart is complex, 5 different charts each repeating over a different number of rounds ... so it is a sit on the couch and focus knit. As I knit with such focus I do wonder why I do this sort of thing .. and then I admire the sock and realize the sock is the why, the pretty sock at the end of the process


Spinning, I finished the first of the yarn from the NZFS 3.0 swap, the green. I spun this not very well using rolags and an improving woolen technique. I've not measured but there are two skeins, one three ply worsted, one 2 ply woolen, so enough for a hat. I thought the thicker yarn would make a nice thick fold back cuff. Currently both Poppy and Bear are eying it up - well will see who gets it, Poppy is due for a hat, Bear has several.


Then there was today sewing, with no cubs to feed and to monitor and to entertain - I just settled down and cut and sewed. It was seat of pants kind of sewing, with a vague plan and basic shapes cut. I had some fine ribbed merino knit in my stash and some floral sports mesh that I thought would line the hood - and then decided it would suit the body as well. I didn't have an open ended zip at hand but did have some more snap tape, so one decision after another the hoodie came together nicely by mid afternoon. There was a moment when I wondered how best to finish the neck and lining and hem band and which order of assembly would give the neatest finish, and wondered if I had backed myself into a corner - but I worked it out, and fudged a little to make it work (a little stretch technique combined with a little tailoring lining technique). With the hoodie done, I worked on the dress, which is either really really cute and stylish - or I have lost the plot completely with the large polka dots and lime green lining. It is just a simple shift dress, with fitted back darts, bust darts and an unfitted front waist. I've still got to add a zip and work the hem .. but essentially its done. Behind it is another variation on the same dress, cut in Italian linen with hints of pink and blue and green amidst the donkey brown .. being linen it will hang differently. These are all part of the sewing I've been working on over the holidays, and are to work with whisper and are probably the reason I said it needed a dress - I had dresses planned and now they are being done.

Today's efforts join the skirts I made a few weeks ago, lime green wool crepe and an old gold & white vintage print, both gored skirts. I've still got to stitch the bias waist band down and hem the green one, but I've been wearing the other. All chores for latter in the week.

Take care
more sewing planned this week, work next week, but lots of knitting to do as well.
na Stella